Meditation: An Effective Tool For Mental Health

Written By Mikkie Mills / Reviewed By Ray Spotts

It's no secret that meditation is good for your mental health. It helps people reduce stress, decrease levels of anxiety and depression, and even improve their quality of life. But how does it do these things?

There are many benefits to meditation on your mental health which we will be discussing throughout this blog post! Stay tuned for more information on how you can start meditating today.

1. Mindful of Your Thoughts and Feelings

Simply sitting still, breathing deeply, and simply observing your thoughts as they come into your mind can help you become more relaxed and focused. It can help you get in touch with your emotions and really feel them without getting overwhelmed.

2. Lowers the Production of Cortisol, a Stress Hormone

Meditation has many benefits for mental health, one of which is that it lowers the production of cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that is released when someone anticipates or experiences stress. Too much cortisol can negatively impact the body by increasing the risk of heart disease, weight gain, and memory impairment.

If you find yourself more stressed than normal, then red LED light therapy could help you supplement your stress-relief routine. It helped reduce anxiety and depression in many people and could be the missing link to lowering your excess stress.

3. Focus On the Present Moment

When you're meditating, you're focusing on the present moment. This can be beneficial because it leads you to live in the present and worry less about the past or future. When you're able to focus on the present, you're able to enjoy life more and not let stress or anxiety get the best of you.

Focusing too much on the future leads to discontentment, worry, or fear. Focusing too much on the past leads to depression, regret, or shame. Focusing on the present allows you to get the most out of your life by removing those limitations.

4. Teaches You Not to Judge Yourself or Others

Meditation teaches you not to judge yourself or others. People often judge themselves or others in a way that can cause them to engage in unhealthy behaviors for themselves and those close to them. When the mind judges, the heart cannot heal.

Meditation helps people be more compassionate towards themselves and others by preventing them from judging themselves. This allows them the chance to experience a different mindset. The next time you feel like judging someone, practice meditation instead.

5. Increases Self-compassion

Self-compassion is the ability to be kind and understanding towards oneself, especially in difficult times. Self-compassionate people tend to be happier and more content with their lives. Meditation may be a valuable tool for increasing self-compassion and promoting psychological well-being.

It is easier for you to love others if you love yourself first. When you're too hard on yourself over your shortcomings, you make it hard to love yourself. Give yourself a break with self-compassion to unlock the gates to loving those around you.

6. Increases Relaxation

When you start meditating regularly, you will feel more calm and relaxed. This is because meditation helps you focus on the present moment, lowers the production of cortisol, and teaches you not to judge yourself or others. Additionally, self-compassion is known to promote happiness and psychological well-being.

7. Regulates Negative Emotions

Meditation is known to regulate negative emotions. Certain types of meditation can work as a type of psychotherapy. Meditating lessens pain perception, therefore decreasing any emotional response.

Less emotional response means less emotional pain. For example, someone who has a low tolerance for physical discomfort can use meditation to reduce their perception of pain to experience it less emotionally and agree to do things they previously could not because of fear or anxiety.

Conclusion

It is well-documented that meditation has tons of benefits, but it can be hard to commit the time and energy. If you are looking for a way to take your mindfulness practice up a notch or two, then make sure to schedule meditation into your daily routine.

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Written By: 

Mikkie Mills is a freelance writer from Chicago. She is also a mother of two who loves sharing her ideas on interior design, budgeting hacks and DIY. When she's not writing, she's chasing the little ones around, walking her dog, or can be found rock climbing at the local climbing gym.

Reviewed By:

Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com.

Photo by Katerina Jerabkova on Unsplash